Let me make a confession. I have been apprehensive about addressing the current economic crisis/situation/correction in my preaching, writing, and teaching. I imagine this lack of confidence is influenced by my unfortunate lack of theological reflection on the complex economic currents of our time. I don't know if this is because very little is written on the subject, or because I have not been paying attention. Regardless, what we learned this past year is that even the experts who are managing our money and the economy aren't that great at predicting or explaining, let alone controlling it. Although many wanted to convince us we were on a steady pattern of growth and wealth-building, it took less than a year to completely dispel this illusion. If the experts have failed us (not to mention stolen from and abused us), how can a pastor have anything meaningful to say?

Although the church has not necessarily said a lot about economics at the level of the market or global capitalism, it is not the case that the faith has nothing to say about the economy writ large. The economy (œcumene) is the place where God manifests God's works. Carl Linnaeus, a famous Swedish biologist, wrote:

By the Oeconomy of Nature we understand the all-wise disposition of the Creator in relation to natural things, by which they are fitted to produce general ends, and reciprocal uses. All things contained in the compass of the universe declare, as it were, with one accord the infinite wisdom of the Creator." (quoted in Donald Worster, Nature's Economy, page 37).

 Or, in Eastern Orthodoxy, all of theology is defined as:

 "the rational fruit of the study and examination of the whole work of Divine Oeconomy, from the creation of the world until the last times...realized by the Church within history and time." (To Safeguard and Renew: The Principles of the Stewardship of Creation as the Fifth Markof Christian Mission)

 Or, to quote the classic text on the economy of God in our Small Catechism, Luther's explanation of the First Article of the Creed:

"I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true."

So, when it comes right down to it, preachers and the church have quite a bit more to say about our current economic situation than we are willing to admit. The whole of theology applies to the economy of God, and our creed begins with comments on God's disposition towards that which God has created.

However, the fact that God disposes the economy is not yet a word of comfort or hope. If you have recently lost your job, watched your pension savings plummet, or are struggling to put food on your shelves, some of what I have said so far may ring hollow. If God is disposing all this, what does that say about God? What is the life of faith in this context?

Well, I'm still too apprehensive to offer a comprehensive pastoral response to the current economic crisis. It would be irresponsible to offer such, anyway. People are hurting and scared. Offering a meta-narrative that explains it all away would be the height of modernist arrogance. I also know that whatever I'm going to offer in response to the crisis will sound like, and will actually function as, a two-edged sword. Only a hard and honest word will actually bring comfort and peace.

What is this two-edged sword? The church does indeed offer a counter-testimony to the myth of scarcity. I'm reminded of a magnificent essay by Walter Bruegemann, "The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity" He writes:

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if liberal and conservative church people, who love to quarrel with each other, came to a common realization that the real issue confronting us is whether the news of God's abundance can be trusted in the face of the story of scarcity? What we know in the secret recesses of our hearts is that the story of scarcity is a tale of death. And the people of God counter this tale by witnessing to the manna. There is a more excellent bread than crass materialism. It is the bread of life and you don't have to bake it. As we walk into the new millennium, we must decide where our trust is placed."

The reason many of us are so fearful right now is simple: the gods in whom we put our trust have appeared mortal and weak. Consumerism, and the gospel of more, more, and more, have been shown for what they are; fickle lovers.

In the meantime, we have forgotten to say our prayers. Remember the Catholic and Lutheran table grace: "The eyes of all look to thee, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hands and satisfy all living things with delight." This table grace, based on Psalm 104, has us looking to God for all good things and food. If you read the paper every day, you'd think that the prayer read, "The eyes of all look to thee, Dow Industrial Average." But it doesn't, thank God.

No, the gospel is a liturgy of abundance in a world that is hammering the myth of scarcity into our minds and hearts. God will provide. Remember the Sermon on the Mount. All of Matthew 6 is a sermon written precisely for times like these. Jesus says things like, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink." "Can any of you by worrying add a single day to your life?" "Consider the lilies of the field." "Do not store up treasure for yourselves on earth." 

Did we think Jesus was only kidding, or that he was overly naive? We proclaim regularly that Jesus had great faith in God the Father. If we believe this, are these statements not also a proclamation of how to be faithful in difficult economic times? I love Bruegemann's conclusion to his essay, written in 1999 but so prescient:

"In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul directs a stewardship campaign for the early church and presents Jesus as the new economist. Though Jesus was rich, Paul says, "yet for your sakes he became poor, that by his poverty you might become rich." We say it takes money to make money. Paul says it takes poverty to produce abundance. Jesus gave himself to enrich others, and we should do the same. Our abundance and the poverty of others need to be brought into a new balance. Paul ends his stewardship letter by quoting Exodus 16: "And the one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little." The citation is from the story of the manna that transformed the wilderness into abundancy.